Hip surgery won’t keep Park Ridge mayor out for long

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Park Ridge Mayor David Schmidt

Updated: March 11, 2012 8:21AM

A little hip replacement isn’t keeping Park Ridge Mayor David Schmidt down for long.

Just a week after surgery to replace his right hip with an artificial joint, Schmidt was back home in Park Ridge, participating in the Feb. 6 City Council meeting via telephone and promising to return to his seat in the council chambers on Feb. 20.

“It’s been going really well,” the mayor said of his recovery, which consisted of a two-day stay at Park Ridge’s Advocate Lutheran General Hospital and several days of in-patient physical therapy at Alden, a Des Plaines rehabilitation center. He will now undergo outpatient therapy in Park Ridge.

“Really, the whole trick is to remember not to do certain things and let time heal the body,” Schmidt said.

The mayor is now walking slowly with the use of a cane and has found certain movements difficult, but overall he says the experience has been a positive one because it is forcing him to take time out to exercise.

“I feel better overall than before the surgery,” Schmidt acknowledged.

Undergoing his first surgery since age 10, Schmidt, 54, believes he will need another surgery in 15 years to replace his artificial hip with a new one.

In an e-mail to residents, Schmidt thanked many of the people who had offered a helping hand after learning about his upcoming surgery.

“If I took everyone up on the offers for meals and rides I’d be able to open a small restaurant and limo service,” he wrote. “I am blessed to have so many people looking out for me.”

Schmidt is now looking ahead to his annual State of the City address, which he plans to make March 5.